Digital PR

As GDPR took effect, countless brands required their network to opt-in to new privacy policies and terms of service. Those changes weren’t required for domestic brands that don’t do business internationally, but they were certainly a good idea given that data regulation remains a topic du jour. But when it comes to spamming, email remains the medium where much of the bad behavior still runs rampant. Here are some other steps your communications team can take to make sure that it isn’t spamming its audience with too much information over email.

That moment you’ve secured the first batch of influencers to promote your brand’s products, services or values is incredibly exciting. Partnering with people who can speak to what you do is an increasingly valuable media relations strategy whether your influencers are micro or macro. But with the Federal Trade Commission cracking down on influencers for not disclosing their partnerships and relationships, you’ve got to make sure that your contract, or influencer agreement, is clear in both language and expectations around disclosure.

We’ve all seen a powerful video that makes us laugh, cry or take action in some way. But communicators must be able to craft video content that is both compelling and likely to drive business results—a common requirement from senior leaders before they approve a video budget. PR News hosts our Video Workshop next Friday, March 15, at D.C.’s historic National Press Club. Ahead of the workshop, here are three tips for communicators to keep in mind before shooting video.

With March Madness permeating the zeitgeist in a few weeks, we asked some of the 2018 PR News Rising PR Stars to answer our roundtable questions this month. We asked, “What gets you mad about PR and communications?” And, “What can be done about it?” Their edited responses follow.

You’ve undoubtedly seen this at concerts or other live events—an excited fan takes out a smartphone to start recording what’s happening onstage and, despite the fact that the stage is wider than it is tall, the fan records a vertical video. Working with vertical video has become a pain point for professional videographers who lament the lack of flexibility and picture quality that 9×16 dimensions provide. We spoke with Patrick Pho, lead brand marketing producer at Volkswagen, about this issue ahead of his session at PR News’ Video Workshop on March 15 at D.C.’s National Press Club.

Twitter’s marketing department got in on the fun this year, too, launching a hashtag—#BrandBowl53—and announcing the commercials that garnered the most engagement on its platform early Monday. The results of this case study demonstrate many different paths to success on the platform. Here are the grand prize winners of #BrandBowl53, and what those campaigns can teach communicators.

It’s that time of year again when your belly yearns for wings, nachos and beer—Super Bowl LIII is almost upon us. Millions will tune in to watch the Patriots and the Rams square off on Sunday, but many more will also be watching for the Super Bowl ads, the priciest block of advertising time in broadcast history that are sure to inspire brand wins and losses of their own. Between the ads, the politics that the sport has found itself engulfed in over the past year, and the huge amounts of money being spent, let’s look at some of the biggest PR touchdowns and fumbles ahead of Super Bowl LIII.

Starting on Jan. 18, YouTuber Harry Brewis, known as Hbomberguy to his fans, streamed a Twitch marathon while he played Nintendo 64’s Donkey Kong. The live gaming event raised $340,000 for a nonprofit. Here are three elements that contributed to its success—and that communicators can consider leveraging, should they choose to experiment with Twitch to reach a young audience.

Maintaining valid influencer relationships for your brand will only continue to be a crucial media relations strategy in 2019. But in this time of bots and paid followers on social, what’s the best way to make sure those relationships are on the level? How do you know you’re working with an influencer whose digital persona, and engaged followers, are legit?

While it’s tempting to call 2019 the year of trust, we’ll have to wait and see. Still, those who make sure that trust and transparency is at the core of their brand identity will likely see many happy returns. To that end, Google started the year off by announcing two features—one that just launched and one that’s rolling out in July—intended to help repair trust and improve the experience for end users. As it turns out, they’re both tremendously valuable tools for communicators, too.